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Van Buren Gears Up For Capital Projects

Revenues from the new sales tax in Van Buren won’t start coming in until the fall, but city leaders are already gearing up for the capital projects proposed and resoundingly approved in a special election July 10.

More than 70 percent of the voters said “yes” to a 1 percent citywide sales tax that will pay for a $2.5 million fire station, a $3.5 million police station, a $2.5 million senior center and $1.5 million in parks improvements.

Mayor Bob Freeman said he will meet this week with Fire Chief Jerry McAdoo, Police Chief Ken Bell and representatives of Architecture Plus, the firm hired to design the fire and police stations. Although he’s required by law to allow 30 days for someone to contest the election results, he wants to be ready to swing into action when the month is up.

“It’s kind of a 30-day dead period, but I don’t want to wait to begin things in a month,” Freeman said. He hopes to advertise soon for a construction manager so he can hire one immediately after the dead period ends.

“Funding for construction won’t be available until October or November … and after the first of the year, actual construction can begin,” Freeman said. “There’s a three-year period the bond funds have to be spent within.”

The developers of Legacy Park, a residential area on the northeast side of town, have designated a patch of land in the subdivision to donate to the city for the new fire station — and it’s exactly where the station is needed, Freeman said. The new station will be No. 4, and will help the city maintain its insurance rating of 2, which is the same as Fort Smith’s.

A location for the new police station has yet to be determined.

“Chief Bell is contacting the site selection committee for the police station,” he said.

When a new police station was proposed in 2005, the committee proposed three possible sites: one south of Interstate 40 on Fayetteville Road, one on Pointer Trail, and one off of Arkansas 59.

Bell said those sites may still be feasible, and other sites may come up depending on what the architects advise.

“We’ll find out about the minimum amount of land required, and maybe the layout,” he said.

The current police station, a former doctor’s office, provides a cramped 5,000 square feet of space. Bell said the new station will be around 17,000 square feet and will likely be built so that a second story could be added.

“Our training facility is across the street, and we’ll be able to bring that in under the same roof,” Bell said. “Plus, we have a storage building out back, and we can quit paying rent on that.”

The new sales tax brings total citywide sales taxes to 2 percent.

Before the special election, the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce distributed brochures explaining the ballot and showing how the city’s tax collections compare to neighboring cities.

Even after the election, which doubled the sales tax, the sales tax rate remains lower than that in Alma, Mulberry and Greenwood, all of which have volunteer fire departments. About 26 percent of Van Buren’s budget goes to the fire department, and 30 percent goes to the police department.

One half-cent out of the new tax will pay for the capital-improvement bonds and will sunset when the debts are retired, in about seven years; the other half-cent will be a permanent tax to pay for operations of the fire and police stations and the Van Buren Public Library, to hire additional fire and police personnel, and to start an economic-development fund.